(Peru, Neb.) – After going up 48-7, the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat football team cruised to its second victory of the year by defeating the host Culver-Stockton College Wildcats 48-21.
 
With the win, the Bobcats improve to 2-1 overall on the year and 1-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC).  The Wildcats fall to 0-2 overall and 0-2 in the HAAC.
 
First Quarter Action
 
On the opening kick-off, the Bobcats fumbled on the play and Culver-Stockton recovered to start on offense.  However, on the second play of the game, C-SC fumbled and Neil Bowman (Cedar Bluffs) recovered the fumble and PSC went on the offense.
 
After recovering the fumble, the 'Cats could not get things going and went three and out forcing a PSC punt.
 
The Bobcats could not get anything going on their next possession and were forced to punt.
 
Good defense by the 'Cats saw Preston Bruss (Bennet) and Curtis Larsen (Plattsmouth) combine to sack the Wildcat QB for a one-yard loss.  Larsen followed that play with a sack of his own for a loss of eight yards.  Then, when Culver-Stockton went to punt, Bobcat Maurice Berry (Long Beach, Calif.) blocked the punt and PSC recovered it on the Wildcats' 29-yard line.  
 
It was all Ryan Ludlow (Plattsmouth) from there as Ludlow found the end zone after runs of 20, five and then four for PSC's first score of the game.  Levi Cockle's (Lincoln) PAT was good and PSC led 7-0 at the 9:28 mark in the first quarter.
 
On Culver-Stockton's second play of their next possession, Zach Lempka (Sterling) forced a fumble that was recovered by Bruss on the Wildcats' 31-yard line. 
 
It did not take PSC long to score as Ludlow went in on the first play for a 31-yard touchdown.  Cockle's PAT was good and less than one minute after their first score, the 'Cats led 14-0 with 8:36 left in the quarter.
 
The Bobcat defense held the Wildcats and forced them to punt, but on PSC's first play, the Bobcats fumbled and C-SC recovered.  One play later, the Wildcats scored to cut the lead to 14-7 with 6:05 left.
 
The Wildcat score did not phase Peru State as the 'Cats put together a four-play drive which saw Tyler Audsley (Prescott Valley, Ariz.) have a five-yard touchdown run after Ludlow had 60 yards in rushing on the drive.  Cockle's kick was good and PSC led 21-7 with 4:32 to go in the first.
 
Second Quarter Action
 
The remainder of the first quarter and the first half of the second quarter were much more of a defensive effort before PSC's second possession of the quarter.  After a first down, following a short rushing gain, Bo Shepard (Gretna) threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Shane Lloyd (Ridge Crest, Calif.).  Cockle's PAT was no good, but the 'Cats led 27-7 with 6:35 to go in the first half.
 
The Bobcat defense came up with another fumble recovery on the Wildcats' next possession as Tony Traynor (Valley) grabbed the ball on C-SC's 46-yard line and took it four yards to the Wildcats' 42.
 
Peru State put together its longest drive of the game with a few passes mixed in with the running game.  With the ball on the seven-yard line, Shepard took it around the outside and into the end zone with 1:21 left in the half.  Cockle's kick was good making it 34-7.
 
Culver-Stockton chose to run the clock out and went into the locker room with a huge deficit to make up against the Bobcats.
 
Second Half Action
 
After forcing the Wildcats to punt after their first possession of the second half, Peru State put together a drive like they did against Baker in the second half last week.  PSC fashioned a 12-play, 52-yard drive that took over seven minutes off the clock with Ludlow going the final two yards for the touchdown.  Following Cockle's kick, PSC led 41-7 with 6:20 to go.
 
Culver-Stockton was putting together a drive of their own and on the 12^th play of their drive, Garret Campbell (Santee, Calif.) picked off the Wildcat pass and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown.  Cockle's kick was good and with 1:28 left in the third quarter, PSC was up 48-7.  A review of the record books found this was not the longest interception return for a touchdown as Gordon Thompson had a 100-yard return against Kearney State in 1971.
 
The Wildcats did put together two scoring drives in the fourth quarter to make it 48-21.  Their first came with 11:02 left in the game and the second touchdown was with 2:29 remaining.  Culver-Stockton did recover an onside kick and drove the ball down the field, but the Bobcat defense stiffened and held the Wildcats on their own seven-yard line.
 
Game Statistics
 
The game statistics were actually a lot closer than the final score showed as PSC did give their reserves some extensive playing time.  Both teams finished with 15 first downs. 
 
The Bobcats continued to be able to run the ball and had 243 yards on the ground while holding the Wildcats to just 64 yards on 35 carries.  Culver-Stockton evened things up through the air gaining 251 yards while PSC only had 67 on four of four passing. 
 
Culver-Stockton won the time of possession controlling the ball for 30:58.
 
Individual Offensive Statistics
 
Ludlow accounted for more than half of the Bobcats' total offense gaining 166 yards on 23 attempts and scoring three touchdowns.  Ludlow's longest rush of the game was for 48 yards.  Audsley added 26 yards and one touchdown.
 
While the 'Cats only passed the ball four times, they were all complete.  Shepard finished three of three for 66 yards and the touchdown pass to Lloyd.  Shepard also had one touchdown rushing.  Marshall Klontz (Auburn, Wash.) completed one pass. 
 
Joel Woodhead (North Platte) caught three passes for 11 yards while Lloyd's lone catch went for the 56-yard touchdown.
 
Individual Defensive Statistics
 
Twenty-three Bobcats recorded a tackle during the game.  Bruss continued to lead the Bobcats with his third consecutive double-digit tackle game finishing with ten tackles.  Bruss added one-half a sack and one-half a tackle for loss.
 
Larsen finished with five tackles and added two and one-half sacks and three and one-half tackles for losses.  Finishing with four tackles each were Cody Piotrowski (Mihawka, Ind.), Kalena Workman (Kapa'a, Hawaii), and Jacob Kelley (Beggs, Okla.). 
 
Four other Bobcats had sacks - Ben Watkins (Omaha), Traynor, Sheldon Kearby (Yukon, Okla.), and Mike Lewis (Lincoln).
 
Six Bobcats were credited with pass break-ups – Kelley, Watkins, Devaun Stephans (Tampa Bay, Fla.), Tyler Nutsch (Beatrice), John Duis (Diller), and Briar Burr (Wood River). 
 
In addition to Campbell's interception, Logan Paben (Columbus) snagged one of the Wildcat passes.
 
Special Teams Statistics
 
Jacob Grobe (Oakland, Iowa) punted three times averaging 40.3 yards while Kory Klover (Hebron) had two punts averaging 35.5.
 
Berry had one punt return for six yards.  Paben had one kick-off return for 27 yards.

BOX SCORE
 
Player of the Game Comments
 
Offensive lineman, Jeremy Crump (Omaha) was named the Player of the Game.  Crump shared with the radio personalities that the team had stayed focused the whole week of practice and it showed today.   Crump said, “We watched a lot of film and we were prepared.  We knew they would mix things up and bring a different number of guys up front to try to get us, but we were prepared.”  Crump explained some of the other details, which the Bobcats had identified, and some of his responsibilities while visiting with the radio announcers.  When discussing how he got to PSC, Crump added, “Initially, I wanted to go to Dana, but decided to not go there and contacted Coach Clark.  Coach Clark encouraged me to walk-on and I did.”
 
Coach Schneider Comments
 
Bobcat head coach Steve Schneider was pleased to get the win, but knows work still lies ahead for this team.  When asked about the large amount of fumbles during the game, Schneider said, “I can't speak for Culver-Stockton's fumbles, but we can't let those things happen, in particular, the two which happened on the offense.  We just can't do that against some of our better HAAC opponents.  However, we met all of our goals for the week, except for the goal of having only one team turnover.  Our coaches and players have input into the team goals and that was one we will need to improve upon down the road.”
 
Schneider later discussed getting a blocked punt which set up the game's first score.  Schneider added, “Through film preparation, we thought we could potentially get a punt block after watching their blocking scheme.  It was a big special team play which helps set the momentum for any team and it certainly did for us.” 
 
Talking about their defensive effort, Schneider lauded his defensive coaching staff and the players.  “We did some pretty good stuff defensively as they only had 1.8 yards per rush.  We wanted to improve that this week and we did.”
 
When asked about the off-week and preparation for Benedictine, Schneider concluded, “Our week off does come at a good time as we have been going at it for a solid month.  We will review film tomorrow and then give the varsity guys a couple of days rest.  We will get back at it and prepare for another ranked opponent that we will face in Benedictine.”
 
Next Action
 
The Bobcats will take the week off and prepare for its second road game in a row when they travel to Atchison, Kan., to face the 13^th-ranked Benedictine College Ravens.  Presently, Benedictine is 2-0 following non-conference wins over Concordia University and Sterling College.  Next week, they will be at Graceland University before hosting the Bobcats.